Hyderabad: Assembly agenda being shared at 1 am, Complain MLAs

As KTR was speaking in the Assembly, AIMIM Floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi intervened and told the Speaker that the agenda was shared with the members at 1 am

Hyderabad: The agenda for the Assembly was being shared as late as 1 am, while there were unannounced changes in the agenda. This was one major complaint that legislators lodged with Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar on Friday.

As Sircilla MLA KT Rama Rao was speaking over the Telangana (Regulation of Appointments to Public Services and Rationalization of Staff Pattern and Pay Structure) Bill in the Assembly, AIMIM Floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi intervened and told the Speaker that the agenda was shared with the members at 1 am.

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When Rama Rao asked Owaisi to take the mike, he replied saying the Speaker would not offer the mike as he had supported the BRS on Thursday. The Speaker then offered the mike to the AIMIM floor leader.

“In 25 years, I have never seen this kind of functioning of the House. If members are given agenda at 1 am or 2 am in the night, how will they prepare for the discussion? Do the treasury benches want the members to prepare and participate in a healthy discussion or not?” Owaisi asked.

He also said an agenda was finalised during the Business Advisory Committee meeting and a short discussion topic was listed for the first day of the business in the House.

However, the topic was rescheduled as second topic today, he pointed out, adding that the House could not run on the wishes of one political party or the ruling party. All the members have to be taken into confidence, he said.

Sharing the anguish of Owaisi, Rama Rao also informed the Speaker that the agenda was being shared very late and being changed as well.

The discussion on Hyderabad was listed in the agenda on Wednesday and on Friday, it was made the second topic for discussion, he said, appealing to the Speaker to change this practice.

Earlier, welcoming the State government’s decision to allocate house sites to cricketer Mohammed Siraj and boxer Nikhat Zareen, the BRS wanted the government to allocate house sites to cricketers Pragyan Ojha, Ambati Rayudu and badminton player Jwala Gutta as well.

Extending support to the government’s plans to come up with a Sports policy, Rama Rao reminded that sports grounds were developed in the past. They should be maintained, improved and brought to use, he said. Over the proposal to name the Telugu University after Suravaram Pratap Reddy, the BRS MLA said a decision was already taken in this regard. However, due to the delay in bifurcation, it was not renamed.

“Now that 10 years have passed, we will support the government if it plans to name the Telugu University after Suravaram Pratap Reddy,” Rama Rao added.